This application relates to a system wherein movement, vibration, leaning or flutter of an airfoil in a turbine engine is monitored, and anomalies in the monitored condition are utilized to predict length of any crack that may be found in the airfoil. Once the crack length is determined, a “remaining life” is calculated given expected engine operating conditions. This expected life is to be utilized to plan flight schedules or missions and maintenance.
Gas turbine engines are provided with a number of functional sections, including a fan section, a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section. Air and fuel are combusted in the combustion section. The products of the combustion move downstream, and pass over a series of turbine rotors, driving the rotors to create power. The turbine, in turn, drives rotors associated with the fan section and the compressor section.
The rotors associated with each of the above-mentioned sections (other than the combustion section) include removable blades. These blades have an airfoil shape, and are operable to move air (fan rotors), compress air (compressor rotors), and to be driven by the products of combustion (turbine rotors).
Cracks may form in airfoils, such as the blades. These cracks can result in a failure to the airfoil component over time. To date, no system has been able to successfully predict, detect and monitor the existence, and growth of a crack in an airfoil, which may lead toward failure, and predict the remaining life of an airfoil.